Stanley watched helplessly as the man jumped off the roof of the apartment complex. The man fell back with his eyes closed, wearing an enormous smile on his face as he fell all the way down until he collided with the hard-concrete ground. Blood poured from his body as it laid there motionless. Stanley couldn’t believe his eyes; his lousy day had gotten a lot worse. He never imagined something like this happening right before his eyes.

.-.-.-.

Earlier in the day, Stanley woke up from his bed before the alarm clock went off, much to his surprise, since he had a hard time sleeping since moving in.

“Might as well get started on a brand-new day.” He said to himself, pulling off the turquoise covers and getting out of the bed.

Stanley went over to the sink to wash his face and put some eye drops in his sapphire blue eyes. He combed his black hair, then reached for the multi-colored suit that he had set out the night before. As Stanley slipped on his black shoes, his phone rang on the coffee table, which caught his attention. After he went over to pick it up, Stanley answered the phone and pressed it against his ear.

“H-Hello?” He greeted. “Yeah, it’s me. Yes, I got to my new place, ok, so how about you?”

Silence ensued for a while, until Stanley spoke up again, this time in a louder tone. “Oh, come on! Don’t talk about that right now; I just got here! I know, but... doesn’t that take time and—?”

He massaged his temples and groaned. “Look, I got to go. I have an interview I need to attend to. Yeah, that quickly. Yep, glad you understand. Alright, talk to you soon. Love you too.”

Stanley hung up on the phone and sighed heavily. He hoped someone like him could find a decent job around here and make it on his own, anything to prove to his parents that this was a good idea. The only family member that believed in him from the beginning was his nana, the person he was mixed towards. She was a strange case, always had been. Her mood would always change in the blink of an eye. It was hard to read her. He couldn’t tell if they were ever close or not, though.

He hadn’t seen or heard much of her, even before he packed things and left. Nobody else brought her up either, which was odd, to say the least. Stanley didn’t question it, however. He figured she was busy or just tired and would call him again when they both had the time.

Stanley didn’t have time to ponder about that though, he had stuff to do. He took a suitcase filled with papers, grabbed a granola bar, and headed out.

.-.-.-.

After eating a snack and doing some last-minute checkups, Stanley stepped out of the apartment. Now that daylight shone in the town, his vision around the place was clearer. The buildings looked old-school and basic, with their shapes and color structures. Old-fashioned trolleys still operated on the streets, while modern electric televisions got displayed behind the glass windows of the shops.

The fresh smell of mist went through his nose; it seemed different from the region he was in previously, as it had a mix of old and new stuff involved. Stanley couldn’t believe he was here at last, in the town of Bleakburn.

As Stanley walked through the city, he noticed other people chatting. Some sat in street-side shops, yet others looked at the items in the nearby window displays. Watching them made Stanley’s stomach churn, but he still pressed on, trying not to bump into anyone along the way.

“Hey there, do you hate your life?” A female voice asked, perking his ears.

Stanley stopped and turned to find the voice; he soon noticed it came from the TV ad in a nearby window. The ad featured a young girl with long pink hair and multi-colored eyes, one brown and one black. Several people ran over to the TV display to inspect, and before long, the area bustled with excitement and awe. Stanley stood up on his toes, trying to get a better view of what everyone watched.

“Um, excuse me?” He tried to call out to get their attention, but to no avail.

“Do you sometimes wish that something good could happen to you?” The girl continued, “Well, now you can! With this brand-new request app! Just type whatever you like on your phone, and your dreams will come true!”

Wait, wishes? Give me a break. Stanley thought while rolling his eyes. Who would fall for that?

“There are limits and rules to its use. Please read the guidelines for more info.” She finished with excitement in her voice.

Sorry, but don’t expect anybody to read those. Wait, what am I doing wasting my time here? Stanley shook his head. I need to find a map; there must be one around here somewhere.

Stanley looked around in search of a map stand. He eventually found one, but noticed a small crowd of people surrounding it. Stanley figured he could wait until it simmered down and then walk over to grab a map from the stand. He looked around as he tapped his foot impatiently, wondering when the people would leave. They just stood there, chatting with one another about who knows what.

The wind blew hard in his direction, as Stanley tried to keep his stance; the suitcase slipped from his fingertips. As it hit the ground, the case popped open, papers and documents flew out toward the other side of the street.

Stanley ran across the street to chase the papers and pick them up before they flew too far. Thankfully, he didn’t get hit by any cars as he put the documents away one by one. He noticed one last piece across the street and hurried to catch it before he’d end up late for his first appointment. Stanley turned around and ended up bumping into someone in the process, causing them to fall on the sidewalk.

The woman had long, dark brown curly hair and wore a cyan-blue dress with matching shoes and white laces. She glared at him with her topaz yellow eyes.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry about that!” Stanley exclaimed. “Are you ok, miss?”

“Do I look ok to you?” The woman retorted, getting up and brushing herself off.

“Um, maybe? I don’t know...”

The brown-haired lady rubbed her arm and winced.

“Is there anything I can do?” Stanley asked, raising his arms.

“Yeah, how about you leave me alone?”

“But wait, before I do that, could you at least tell me where—?”

“Just go to the nearby map stand, it’s available.” The woman pointed without looking.

Stanley turned to find nobody near it anymore. “Oh, I see. But I still need to collect some paper that I dropped—”

“You mean this?” The brown-haired lady took out a piece of paper that had some application notes written on it.

“Oh, yeah, that’s it, thanks!” Stanley chirped. He took the paper from her and placed it back into his briefcase.

“Sure thing, but don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Ah, right, my bad.”

Stanley walked back over to grab a map from the stand. After checking the specific spots on the map, he then went on searching for nearby transportation. Stanley noticed the red trolley moving by. Seeing as though the ride wouldn’t stop any time soon, he ran and jumped into the vehicle, grabbing the first open spot.

Just as Stanley tried to adjust and make himself comfortable, tons of people squirmed around and squeezed in. Soon, the trolley became too crowded, making Stanley feel uncomfortable as he fidgeted the entire ride.

The vehicle went over bumps and corners; people swerved to the sides as they hung on to the railings in the ceiling. Sweat poured down from Stanley’s face and a bottomless pit sunk in his stomach. He couldn’t take it any longer.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another female walking by, one with red hair tied back in two ponytails. She held a piece of paper he found to look familiar. Could that be an application too? As the trolley continued moving, Stanley noticed one building he just passed looked like one of the places where he made an appointment.

Stanley tried to make his way to the opening in the trolley and prepared to jump out. He nearly tripped as he landed on the sidewalk, but somehow composed himself and stayed in balance. Stanley looked up and noticed how tall and regular-looking the building appeared to be. He took a deep breath, placed the application paper in his pocket, and headed inside.